Pink Apron Baker: Devil's Food Baby Shower Cake

I love baby showers!   I can't resist baby clothes. Everything is so small and cute! So, when a co-worker asked me to make a cake for her baby shower I couldn't say no.   She wanted chocolate cake, baby feet, and she let me know her colors were baby blue and light green.

I hadn't done a ton of fondant before work, but I realized pretty quickly the best way to make the baby feet was to use fondant. But I didn't want to cover the cake in fondant.   As nice as it looks, I don't think it is the best tasting frosting.   I am a buttercream person, and I don't like making products that I wouldn't enjoy eating myself.

I used a traditional swiss meringue buttercream to coat the cake and I used fondant pieces for accents.   The cake was filled with chocolate filling and I used three layers of devils food cake. I really wish I had a picture of the inside. Overall I was very pleased with how this cake came out.   I will have to make another one, so I can try it for myself.

Devil's Food Cake

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pans
1/2 cup boiling water
3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment. Dust with cocoa powder; tap out excess. Set aside. Sift cocoa powder into a medium bowl; whisk in boiling water. Set aside to cool.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl; set aside. Put butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until creamy. Gradually mix in sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, a bit at a time, mixing well between each addition; mix until well blended. Mix in vanilla.
Whisk milk into reserved cocoa mixture. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture.
Divide batter evenly among prepared pans; smooth tops with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks; remove parchment and re-invert. Let cool completely.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

12 oz (336 g) egg whites (10 large egg whites or about 1 1/2 cups)
3 cups (680 g) granulated sugar
3 lbs (1.36 kg) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp lemon extract, almond extract, orange extract, or pure vanilla extract

1. Lightly whisk egg whites and sugar together over simmering water until egg-white mixture is hot to touch or a candy thermometer reads 140°F (60°C).

2. Pour hot whites into a room-temperature bowl and whip with a wire whip until double in volume on MEDIUM-HIGH speed. When the mixer stops, the meringue should not move around in the bowl. Meanwhile cut up butter into 2-inch pieces. (The butter should be slightly moist on the outside but cold inside.)

3. On your mixer, remove the whip and attach the paddle. Add half the butter (1 1/2 lbs or 680 g) into the bowl immediately and pulsate the mixer several times until the meringue has covered the butter completely. To pulsate the mixer, turn it on and off in a jerky motion. This forces the butter on the top to the bottom of the bowl. Add the balance of the butter (1 1/2 lbs or 680 g) and pulsate mixer several times. Slowly increase the mixer's speed, starting with the lowest speed and increase the speed every 10 seconds until you reach a MEDIUM-HIGH speed.

4. Continue beating until the mixture begins to look light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl. Reduce speed to LOW. Add flavoring and continue to beat on LOW speed for 45 seconds. Then beat on MEDIUM-HIGH speed for an additional 45 to 60 seconds.

Adapted from epicurious